10.17.2005

Ed Schultz blocked from Armed Forces Radio

The Ed Schultz show was set to start airing Monday on Armed Forces Radio, but at the last minute the show was pulled. The speculation is that the show was yanked, because of Schultz's criticism of the staged press conference between the president and troops in Iraq last week.

Ed [Schultz] played an audio tape of Pentagon communications official Allison Barber helping troops in Iraq rehearse for their broadcast video teleconference with the president last week. Barber walked them through questions and their answers and warned them the president might ask questions not from the script.

The incident was widely considered an embarrassment to the White House, which appeared to be coaching soldiers for its own political purposes.

According to People for the American Way, Barber personally called Schultz -- regarded as a liberal in the world of talk radio -- on Monday to tell him his show would not be airing Oct. 17 after all.

AFN airs both Rush Limbaugh and James Dobson, but hasn't had a liberal alternative. Schultz's show airs locally from 2-5pm on 1400AM out of Racine (although it's difficult to pick up in much of Milwaukee).